Turkish Airlines plans expansion in India

After a strong performance in the Indian market in 2012 Turkish Airlines is planning to substantially boost capacity there. The carrier’s load factor from India was 85%, eight percentage points higher than its global average of 77%. It currently flies daily to Istanbul from New Delhi and Mumbai and wants to increase capacity on these routes due to increasing demand. It also intends to launch services from Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Amritsar and Ahmedabad.Turkish Airlines has ordered 30 wide-bodied aircraft, to be delivered by 2016, which will double its capacity. It has also signed long-term agreements with a number of travel consultants in India for sales distribution. Having recently launched to Boston, San Francisco and Houston, it will also see significant loads from India to onward destinations in Europe and North America.“Last year was very successful for us as we achieved all our targets,” Mehmet Akay, Turkish Airlines’ general manager for southern and western India, told TTG Asia. “Depending on bilateral agreements, we would like to add new routes and establish new gateways in India to consolidate our presence firmly.”TTG Asia[image courtesy Boeing]